Victrix
by Grievance
Summary: Sakura needs only give up one thing to go back and do everything again. So she does, and that one thing-becomes her everything. (Time Travel)(AU)(Sakura's soul in Ino's body)(Spoilers for the entire series)(Work of fanfiction)(Main character is mostly Ino, really.)
1. Some Things You Can't Go Back To

**Victrix**

 _Disclaimer: Not for profit. I do not own Naruto._

 _Beta:_ ouranchimaru. tumblr. com ( _Who has been kind enough to also edit this prologue.)_

 _Notes: AU reimagining. Likely not canon compliant._

* * *

Some Things You Can't Go Back To

On the brink of the war, the battle looked fierce and fast and ready. The tide was turning, all the major villages coming together for a common good. Enter Konoha and the magnificent fighters it hailed, beasts among men and gods among insects. All of the other villages were not without their own power and fury. Angry as the world was threatened, their way of life in danger of being swallowed whole by a mad, alien goddess. Ancient tribute was not without strife, the fighters, ninja, not without bravery. When it finally appeared that all was triumphant for the villages, she came and she wrought. The alien goddess consumed them and their world.

A young medic with pink hair staggered across the battlefield. The girl was named for cherry blossoms, which, although beautiful, inevitably do one thing in the end; they fall. She stumbled but would not rest. Her best friend, a hurricane of blonde hair and blue eyes, stared glassily at her from a distance, her body cold and her eyes dead. The flecks of blood spattered the ground and her clothes were a deep rust. Her name was Ino, and the medic loved her like a sister, but now she was gone. There was another, though, that she could still see across the battlefield of broken bodies. His body was encased in the fires of a demonic fox, and he had killed the boy she loved and she was not sorry for it. The boy she loved, who had turned against them, who had tried to kill her, who she once thought he at least considered her a friend. He was too far gone in the clutches of villainy and she was far too weary and jaded to care.

As the demonic golden light of her best friend went out before her eyes, the battle was lost and won in a second. Before her scream of rage could explode into the ashen air, the length of her neck was torn by the enemy, red seeping down her clothes. Sakura fell. She closed her eyes and prayed for one last time.

* * *

From there she could tell neither space nor time. She could not even tell or feel if she had a body. She was everywhere and she was nowhere.

 _Open your eyes, healer child_ , a voice seemed to seek her ears. Sakura couldn't tell where it came from. _Open your mind's eye._

She struggled to open her mind, she had been in pain and seen so much death, her entire village, her entire world slaughtered on the whim of a mad woman and made possible by men who had nothing better than a delusion of grandeur to live for. It was impossible to quell her thoughts of anger, fear, and most of all, sadness. Her wonderful, beautiful friends, the people that had taught her, and subsequently adopted her, raised her completely and made her who she was. All of them gone, lost to the shinigami.

 _I do not want your rage. I do not want your sadness._ The voice sounded male, but lilting and musical. _I want your love for this world, free of its sins._

Though the depression was there, she tried desperately to think about the good. The people in her life. Naruto Uzumaki, the fiery trickster who had given everything he had to everyone else. Ino Yamanaka, her blue-eyed, blonde-haired best, _best_ , friend. Kakashi Hatake, her late teacher, who had taught her not just how not to get killed, but also how to value your teammates, fellow warriors and friends alike. Tsunade Senju, who taught her that her fists could destroy, yes, but so could they heal, the woman she would want to have as a mother, if fate had let her pick her cards. Sasuke Uchiha, the boy she once claimed to love, and maybe even did still. He had the potential to save, yet he had laid so much to waste and killed people she had known and loved. And yet, he had the chance once to rebuild the name of an entire disgraced clan. He could have been remembered a hero.

Sakura was overwhelmed by the beauty and potential and greatness in all of these people. All the things they could be - all the things they _could have_ been.

 _Your love is commendable and your spirit hardly weak,_ the voice resounded in her mind and soul, _I am the Sage of Six Paths, or the idea, the belief of yourself in something that made me real. I wish for your vision for my children and for your people. Not for the one that came. I can let you go back, remember the future, be ready for the things that may come to pass. I only need your word and an equal exchange._

'I will be me with all of my knowledge?' Sakura's thoughts focused down to that one fine point. 'I will remember everything?'

 _Yes,_ the voice hummed, no change at all in his tone. _You will have to redevelop your skills, but knowledge is its own bounty. You will have to give up something to gain something, though. You must choose a life without your best friend, or without the boy you love._

'Will they be dead? Or never born?' She puzzled.

Her answer was just as puzzling. _Only in a manner of speaking, the boy you know as Sasuke Uchiha will still be there. The girl you know as Ino Yamanaka will still be there. But you won't be able to talk to them ever again, for whomever you decide._

'I can't go back to be my small self though?' Sakura asks.

 _No, that life you haved lived. You can only go forward. You must be somebody new._

Sakura was silent in her thoughts for a very long time. She thought of all the memories she had of Ino. Telling her to be confident, rivaling her for Sasuke's affections, and healing when she was better suited to other things, all because Sakura was there to be her best friend and sometimes challenger. Ino, drove Sakura her to confidence, Ino _was_ confidence.

Sasuke Uchiha she had decidedly less memories of, and only some of them happy. He treated her childish crush on him, her first innocent love, with indifference at best and scorn at worst. Sasuke had betrayed their village to take up arms with the enemy… but he had been tricked and betrayed by the village as well, as she had come to understand it. His own brother had set him up to kill him without real thought of what would come after. Sasuke was no longer the good little boy that she knew, that his brother believed he could be, and had grown up instead to be a lot of power on the wrong side of the Great War. Sasuke needed help.

Sasuke wouldn't appreciate her affections, but she owed it to Naruto to bring him back to the village. She owed it to herself to save him even if it meant breaking his legs and talking some sense into him, or possibly getting him put under house arrest.

Ino would be fine. Ino would always, always be okay. She would be a fine ninja and a pillar of the village intelligence unit without having ever said a word to Sakura. She could watch her from afar, she could make sure that she was okay without ever talking to her, or about her, or anything having to do with her. Ino was never anything but okay until she was dead in front of Sakura.

Sasuke hadn't been okay from the moment she met him. She had a chance to maybe change that, or make him at least a little more okay.

'Okay,' She thought intently. 'I will exchange my best friend, for the boy I love.'

Her consciousness faded and waned, her soul moved from one plane of existence to another by the belief in a sage and an equal sacrifice. She heard the the confirmation before exhaustion consumed her and she fell asleep. _It is done._


	2. Not A Friend In All The World

**Victrix**

 _Disclaimer: Not for profit. I do not own Naruto._

 _Beta:_ ouranchimaru. tumblr. com ( _Thank you_ _.)_

 _Notes: Will try not to over explain things that you already have a concept of. Romance? Probably eventually, I have yet to decide who._

* * *

Not A Friend In All The World

When Sakura woke up for the first time in a world where open war was in the past and future - but not right now - she lifted her tiny hands above her head and wondered why she couldn't remember being so small, having such delicate little hands. She instinctively tried to summon chakra to her hands, circulating it evenly, with understanding of the practice, but her control was not as natural as it had become. She chalked it up to disuse in her child body. She wouldn't have had it so developed yet, but she missed when chakra came easily and with reserves stockpiled behind it.

First things came first though; she needed to familiarize herself with the surroundings. She rolled out of the bed and realized this wasn't her room, but it seemed a little familiar. Small hands found the string hanging from the light switch by the light of the window. The room was set aglow when she pulled the string and she searched the walls for a mirror. The mirror was set above the dresser, and she pulled the chair in the corner from its desk to climb up top for a better look. The face was familiar, blonde hair, blue eyes. She was here, she was Sakura, waking from the realization that she was Sakura, but she was also Ino. Ino Yamanaka, her very best friend, the last friend beside her at the end of the world, who she would never, ever, ever, speak to again, but would still exist in her world.

It took a good deal for all of this to register, and although Sakura was the smartest little kunoichi in terms of understanding concepts in her head, she couldn't quite wrap her mind around this one. Finally, uncomfortable from leaning over the dresser, she slipped off the chair, took it back to the desk, turned off the light, and crawled into bed.

She didn't cry; she wants to and if she was really barely older than a toddler than she might. She was not, though, so she did not cry. Instead she thought. Ino, so beautiful, was lost to her, and she begged the god to change it. Take Sasuke away instead. She could be Sasuke, if she knew she had to be one she would have picked Sasuke! All her problems with Sasuke could have been prevented just by being Sasuke. She wanted Ino back, she missed her fiercely. It would be one thing to just see Ino from afar and never go up to her, but now she had to live with Ino just across the other side of the mirror, and she still couldn't talk to her, couldn't watch her grow fondly from afar.

Ino's parents would miss her, she thinks. That's not quite accurate though, they can't and won't because they won't ever know Ino. Nobody would know Ino except for Sakura. Everyone else would know Ino as the way Sakura was in her body. Nobody would miss Ino because they don't even realize she's gone. Sakura remembered, though. She stumbled out of bed again, turned on the light, and searched in the drawer where she knew Ino kept her scrapbook of pictures. The book was still there, neatly labeled in an adult's hand, and the inside even has a few pictures. There was one of Ino, recently if the mirror was to be believed, smiling and wearing a chain of daisies like a crown. Sakura took the picture out and searched the desk for some tape. She found tape and a red ribbon. She tied the ribbon into a bow and dragged the chair with her to tape both the picture and the bow to the mirror. A shrine, she thought, a memorial to Ino, who gave way for her, who she will not let falter. Ino, who would grow up fine, and powerful and strong. She will be respected, and by Sakura she would be remembered.

Sakura crawled back into bed, sad and overwhelmed and entirely emotional. Her best friend died on the battlefield that day, and Sakura was here now. She would make Ino proud. She had a chance to make the world into something Ino could be proud of. She would make Ino into someone people will be proud of again. It's emotional beyond what Sakura thought she was capable of these days. She was so used to being only logical. Tonight, though, she wanted not to be logical. She turned off the light and crawled into bed again, just feeling sad. Tomorrow would be the time for plans. Right now was the time for mourning.

 _Goodbye Ino_ , Sakura thought as she fell asleep, _I love you, I love you, I love you, and I will miss you._ That night the tears streamed down her cheeks silently onto the pillow and Sakura couldn't stop crying for hours, but she never made a sound.

If the night was a time for sadness and goodbye, the morning was time for plans. Sakura was up with the sun, though she didn't feel rested, just weary. She knew she was young, maybe in the academy, maybe not, she could check with In - her parents in the morning. It was going to be strange calling somebody else's parents mom and dad, but she figured it was best to think of this as a deep cover mission. She hoped Ino's personality isn't too well established, but she thought of what she knew Ino to be when they were kids. Of course, they were both in love with Sasuke, so there's that. She didn't think she could even act in love with Sasuke, even to the extent of a childhood crush. Outgoing and friendly she could do without much effort. Of course, she realized she was young enough that if she were to announce something out of the blue, like "I actually want to be a medic instead of working intel, interrogation, espionage and all that." It would probably be taken quite well, but with a lot of patronization. She was a Yamanaka, fated to walk the line of enemy minds and actions alike. _Hang on_ \- That might just work. She has all of this knowledge about the future and people out there and nowhere to apply it- and yet, she was born to a clan of espionage, she could - and would - make this work. She had to make this work. Last time she was a medic, smart and calculating. This time she needed to grow up to be something else entirely. Someone else could be the medic.

So she needed to be stronger and more informed. That was the first thing. She spent the next hour meditating and another ten minutes just staring at the picture taped to the mirror. She decided that moving the chair was too much work so she just climbed up, sticking chakra to her feet to help. Her control was very good mentally but this body didn't have the practice or the reserves. It wasn't as natural to Ino as it was to Sakura, and now, standing in Ino's shoes, Sakura could understand why. Her chakra flowed with water, effortlessly. Ino's felt more… sticky, perhaps. It didn't flow but it expanded easier. Sakura could feel the difference, but she was not sure if it was different for each person or simply her body's lack of practice.

If she wasn't in the academy yet, she needed to enroll and familiarize herself with people. She knew Ino could mind-transfer - a trait of the Yamanaka clan - and search the minds of others as well as reinforce illusion by the time she was in the Chunin exams. She wasn't a chunin though, not really, at least in thought process. In body and chakra manipulation though, she was below academy student and genin respectively. Somebody had to teach Ino the clan jutsu and skill beyond was was simply expected of her by her formal teachers. Sakura was willing to bet that that her father was the one who taught her so. Ino's mother, after all, had married into the clan.

So far the plan didn't divulge beyond that. There was, of course, all the major events of the future that needed to be dealt with accordingly. The Akatsuki would be out there, already in it's infancy. Zetsu, who would be cloned into an entire army and unleashed. Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Sasuke, and really every goddamned Uchiha in existence; all of them nothing but trouble.

There was tomorrow though, and the next day. That was better than she had before, so most of the planning could wait until she had resources at her disposal.

For now, though, she heard the sound of people moving about the house and decided that it's a fine time to get up and get to work. She ruffled around the drawers for appropriate clothing and picked out simple black pants and a purple - her heart ached at Ino's favourite color - simple T-shirt. She found a pair of small black sandals at the door to her room and slipped them on before navigating down the stairs and into the kitchen. After all, Ino's house hasn't changed much over the years at all and it had been a while, but she still remembers where everything is.

Inoichi - her father now - was eating breakfast at the table - toast, it looked like. His eyes were as blue as hers now, although his hair was a darker corn blonde. "Good morning, Ino, your mother went to mind the shop already. I was expecting you to sleep much later."

"I woke up when the sun came in, it was very bright this morning," It seemed like an innocent statement. Ino did leave the curtain open when she went to bed last night, but that was a painful thought for another time.

Inoichi chuckled. "Still spending the evening counting the stars? There are too many to count in one evening, you know. Some people spend their entire lives mapping the stars."

"So? They're beautiful," She protested, _and finding the right stars in a storm or disoriented and half dead on a battlefield might lead you home instead of to enemy camp._ "I've been thinking, though," Sakura began, and it was hard to just say something without thinking of how a small child would say it. This was a world of child soldiers, though, so maturity might even be expected in this non-civilian family. "About what it means to be an Yamanaka, and I mean, I'm supposed to follow in your footsteps, right?"

"If that's what you want Ino, I wouldn't ever ask that of you," The crow's feet around his eyes seemed suddenly more pronounced as he sighed, Sakura supposed he might be bracing for his daughter to tell him that she wanted to follow the stars instead. It was not to be so; Sakura did not intend to waste Ino's life chasing dreams instead of reality.

She gathered up her thoughts, sitting up at the table across from Inoichi. "Yeah," she started, "You are a serious ninja, and I think I would like to be a serious ninja too. I want to learn, and," she channeled Ino with as much as she remembered of her youth, "I want to be the best at it. I want to be the greatest ninja. Ever."

Inoichi smiled. "Let's work on the ninja part first, you don't need to be so serious yet. We only talked about you going to the academy in a year or two, but you could go earlier, though. Your mother and I planned to let you join when you were eight, but five is old enough, I suppose," he set down his toast softly and drew his calculating gaze to her. "Don't expect to graduate early unless you really are the very best. Even then, though, we're not at war, so that's extremely unlikely." Inoichi looked at her with resignation and not shock though, so she supposed the couldn't have been too off the mark with her impression. "It's not something you get to leave unfinished once you start, though. Give it some thought. If you're really serious, show up for training in the backyard tomorrow morning." He pat her softly on the head, ruffling her blonde hair.

"Why not today?" She asked, smoothing out her hair again. She needed to look for other pieces in the puzzle of this new father figure in her wayward life.

"There is toast on the counter, eat some, and we'll go get the academy paperwork," He said, "That's what we can do today. After, I have work to attend to, you can go help your mother with the flower shop for the rest of the day."

"Okay." She nodded and set herself about to getting breakfast off the counter and smothered it in the jam that had been left out with it. Content with ending the conversation there, she sat on the chair silently and did her best to ignore Inoichi's appraising stare. Eating her toast avidly, she missed his look of approval completely.

Such ferocity in one so small, who has always been so bold, Inoichi knew she would be a great legacy. He would be made proud of his daughter. He couldn't wait to tell his friends how motivated and easy to deal with his progeny is. She was not troublesome at all.


	3. The Heart Wants

**Victix**

 _Disclaimer: Not for profit. I do not own Naruto._

 _Beta: ouranchimaru .tumblr. com (Who is most excellent.)_

 _Notes: I noticed a lot of anonymous complaints in the reviews (most of the reviews now I think)… So I added more tags. Thanks for reading even though you're complaining. I'd love to reply to you guys politely so maybe drop me a pm if you are shy._

 _I have had a comment that it should be a OC tag, but I'm trying to make the decisions from Sakura's point of view in this weird circumstance, I thought it through really hard, but if it was somebody else they might be running around as neither of them. It was important to me that they were important to her._

 _To anyone who is enjoying this story: It's for you guys. Thanks you for any and all support for my oddball story. I'd love to hear from you guys too._

* * *

The Heart Wants

Sakura did her best to make herself scarce in the flower shop. She told Ino's - _her_ mother how pretty the flowers were, even though in reality she felt hot tears well up behind her eyes every time they caught her eye. She reminded herself to bring a book next time to tune the painful memories out. Her mother noticed that something seemed a little off with her daughter, but she knew that her husband was filling out academy paperwork at Ino's request. She attributed her silence and lack of attitude to perhaps the forethought to her recently-made life choice.

Akari Yamanaka was a fighter in her own respect. Though mostly thought of as a well-to-do, respectable member of Konoha society, she also held a ninja rank, and in her field days had dabbled in poisons and plant-research of various kinds, including pharmaceuticals. These days, she had mostly retired with the birth of the Yamanaka heir, Ino, but she still kept her ear open around the town for snippets of information for her husband. _Once a ninja, always a ninja._ She knew that Ino would have no other route in life, practically speaking. As heir of the relatively small Yamanaka clan, and with a spot on the clan council at her eventual disposal, she could only earn the ear of the hokage and the respect of the others with an appropriate rank.

Akari did not vainly wish for her to take a desk job, either; she knew the kind of deceit that only those too close to the village would be expected to wade through. She had seen the kind of treachery that fell into Inoichi's lap as one of the captains in torture and interrogation. Most of all, she knew exactly what Ino would be asked to do and just how it would break her down. The clan's techniques were infinitely useful to the village for searching the minds of enemies. In Konoha, though, they kept their friends close and their enemies closer. Anyone from a drinking buddy to your own lover could fall under a Yamanaka's internal village mission. That was so much harder on Inoichi than the field - than war - had ever been. She could not wish that for her daughter.

"Have you considered what you are going to do in regards to being a ninja?" Akari asked Ino. She has never talked to her like a child, and now was certainly not the time to start.

Sakura thought hard before she spoke. _Just keep it simple._ "I intend to become a jounin at least."

"Your father is a jounin, so I'm certain you can be one, too. I meant more in the sense of what do you want to do as a ninja? Um, go into intelligence? Work the field?" These were more thought-provoking questions.

 _Marry into the affluent Uchiha clan?_ Sakura knew that even Ino didn't think like that until she was much older than five, and she couldn't exactly say 'follow my other self-best friend into the medical field only to patch up soldiers on the battlefield for months - years, really - and die somewhere on the fringes of my home only to be remembered by one girl who makes a deal with the devil that costs me my existence in an alternate reality.' That, probably wouldn't go over well. It also remained that her decision was her shame to carry, not anyone else's. Instead, she went with another plain, slight vague, answer. "Oh. I want to protect Konoha, maybe work in the field some, but intelligence is where my talents will probably be the most useful."

"Ah."

The store fell nearly silent after that, and mother and daughter spoke no more of serious issues or anything not related to the work. The evening continued in much the same direction: everyone absorbed in their own thoughts and absent throughout dinner. Sakura excused herself early for bed and made sure to say a small prayer to Ino's makeshift shrine on the mirror. "I will honor you. I will make you proud." It was the vow of a lifetime. She cried herself to sleep again that night.

* * *

Morning came with the rising sun. Sakura dressed simply again and made her way downstairs, where a breakfast of leftovers awaited, as nobody seemed to have the appetite to eat all of her mom's cooking, no matter how good it was. Food first, and then out the door and off to the backyard.

There, Inoichi was sitting on the grass, meditating. Sakura watched his stance for a few minutes but didn't say a word. When the silence persisted, she dropped down to copy his stance and begin her own meditation.

"First, you must empty your mind. Your identity does not come into play. You are Ino. Your mind is yielding and does not affect the minds of others. You know who you are."

"I am Ino." _I am Ino. I am Ino. I am Ino._

"Good. Yamanaka have a gift, Ino. We have developed an ability, not a kekkai genkai, a trait of the blood, but a jutsu; a skill that is so difficult it cannot be copied, even by the sharingan eye, which can copy all it sees." Interesting, she thought. She never had asked Ino if it was a kekkai genkai; she had never even thought to ask. All she knew was that Ino could delve into the mind's own eye. "You will train for it for a long time before you can pull it off, and you will continue to train for it all your life to be able to use it at all. The training is meditation, every single day. To start, I ask a half-hour. Then we will increase the time as your mind gets stronger."

"The first step is identity and your assurance of yours." That was a difficult proposal.

She was Sakura. War had refined her, medics made her, and yet she couldn't be that anymore. She was an adult in a child's body, but she also needed to be someone else.

 _I am Ino._ She thought, but she required a little more than that. _I am Ino and I will make the world._

 _I am Ino and I will make the world._

 _I am Ino and I will make my world._

"Okay. I am Ino," she asserted.

He nodded, feeling assured that she could handle the next part. "Okay. You are Ino. Now all you need is a safe word, a word that can be given to somebody you trust. This needs to be a trigger to bring yourself back to your own mind if you delve too deep into somebody else's; this will be your anchor. Your entire being needs to be tied to your retrieval word. Choose carefully, and not necessarily now."

She knew already, though, what would startle her back into herself. "Sakura. The cherry blossoms."

"Okay. You are Ino, and Sakura will bring you back." If only it was so simple. "Ingrain that everyday until you believe it with all of your heart. The mind is too fragile to hold on to unbreakable ideals. The mind must be able to bend. The heart must be unyielding in this."

 _I am Ino, and Sakura will bring me back._ She could feel it, and she would continue to feel it everyday for the rest of her existence.

"Thirty minutes," Inoichi reinforces. "Then we will move on to some simple practical things."

The whole morning was all it took for Inoichi to forget that his daughter was five. Her decision and dedication could have fooled him into thinking that she was much older. She was easier to work with than the average genin because of her exceptional maturity, even if her skills weren't at all developed quite yet.

It was much different for Sakura; the awkwardness of a body that wasn't hers, from the length of her arms and undeveloped muscle, couldn't make her feel any younger. Her height and all other changes factored that her kunai-throwing skills were certainly below academy-student levels. The few katas and repetition stretches that her dad showed her reinforced that truth. Her body was bumbling and foreign. She worked into the early afternoon, knowing that she couldn't accept that. This body would become familiar, this body _must_ become familiar. It would take a lot of work, but she was up for it.

She made the excuse of going to mind the shop, though she asked her mother if she would be allowed to buy a few books for her newfound ninja interests at dinner, so could she please have some money?

The response told her that she was truly part of a clan, and not one without affluence. "Of course, Ino, dear, just tell them to add it to the Yamanaka account and don't buy too much. If you would like me to take you to the library, I'm sure I have a few moments anyday, just let me know beforehand, okay? Of course the shop is closed on Mondays-" and from there she rambled off things about the shop and customers with Inoichi's encouragement. Dinner was made and served and not at all silent, even if Sakura added little to the conversation.

That night, she spent a little time feeling and reaching for her chakra, exercising it by attempting to stick her desk supplies to her forehead. She wasn't as successful as she would have liked, but she could hold a single item to her head for a while with concentration. When she felt some exhaustion in her reserves, she finally gave in to the desire to sleep in her cozy bed. She missed sleeping in a bed so much during the war, but they simply did not have that luxury. She tried and failed again not to feel the guilt of being here instead of Ino.

"I will honor you," she whispered to the shrine. She turned off the light and fell asleep, her new mantra echoing in the confines of her mind: _I am Ino, and Sakura will bring me back. I am Ino…_

She was too busy thinking to cry herself to sleep that night.


	4. Identity

**Victrix**

 _Disclaimer: Not for profit. I do not own Naruto._

 _Beta: ouranchimaru .tumblr. Com_

 _Warnings: It's in the description for the story, but also SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE SERIES THROUGHOUT._

 _Notes: I'm pretty sure that nobody ever tells Sakura about what happened to the Uchiha, but I also think that's kind of ridiculous, so I'm tweaking that a little- it's fanfiction. It's AU and fanfiction after all. I am also not so good a writer as to not make mistakes, please be patient and kind with me._

 _I get that alot of people are upset, but Sakura will be a character that is important to this story, even if it's not the Sakura that is also the main character that is Ino._

 _That said, if you don't like Ino, this is not the story for you, as she is fast becoming the main character. Not sure I planned that, but it's happening anyway. Really though, I'm a dragon who will eat flames for breakfast._

* * *

Identity

The next several mornings passed similarly. First, meditate with the rising sun, a little longer each time. Then katas and stretches and throwing projectiles and laps and push ups and sit ups in the backyard until she was too tired to do anymore. Then she placed a leaf on her head and focused her sticky chakra to her forehead, her hands, to the bottom of her foot and tried to work with what she had. She had knowledge of chakra control, the theoretics, and even the feel of it, but in a body far more naturally inclined than this one to precision.

She took her mother up on the offer to visit the library and also found the time to go to the bookstore (right near the flower shop, which was the only reason her mother let her go by herself). She made sure to stock up on a few basic books on chakra and simple control exercises; she could be seen reading them constantly in public (or at least at the flower shop).

From the library, she asked her mother, who had accompanied her, to help find some books on forming hand seals and the most basic academy techniques. She tried to practice a simple henge in her room, but her hands were small and awkward and the muscles in her fingers got cramped so easily, so she added three repetitions of the basic hand seals, going through the set slowly, then forwards, and backwards. She also practiced the specific signs for Kawarimi, to substitute oneself and disappear, and henge, to appear as someone else. While she had certainly considered it, she had never asked about genjutsu. Once upon a time, she was a genjutsu type that never specialized, but the war veteran inside her knew that the technique of psychological warfare, unique to Yamanaka, might be an incredibly effective tool when applied with illusion. After all the foundations of the Mind Transfer and other jutsu, what she learned from her father was identity. If she lost her core identity, she could lose her mind. Theoretically, if she could challenge somebody's identity, it could be hers for the taking… Learn to delve into the mind, but also learn how to feed it.

She also pondered her past self's natural defenses; Sakura had an inner that could repel Ino's mind attacks and strengthen her will. Eventually, she had to conclude with her current knowledge that her past self simply had such a strong identity and sense of self, which conflicted with her outward ideals and cultivated personality, that the two shifted and that identity was an accidental shield. This, she could not consciously recreate… but maybe one she could artificially trigger in time. Maybe.

It was about two weeks into her routine when she thought to herself that she might have the courage to start changing the situations of her friends and the future. Naruto, she needed to check in on. Sasuke, who she sacrificed Ino for, in some ways, she needed to save.

Alone on her bed that night, she thought about the Uchiha Incident and what she could do. She only had a vague idea of why it all happened, only what Naruto had hinted at once. He had known he was going to have to fight him, he had whispered that he wasn't positive, but he was pretty sure everything that happened to Sasuke was betrayal, that the village let him down. "The village turned their back on the Uchiha, and I don't think Itachi was ever what I thought he was," he had said. She wasn't sure what it all meant, but she knew it was important.

Sakura knew she had a few years before the incident because Sasuke was about her current age - he was eight when Itachi killed nearly his entire family, therefore turning Sasuke's soul from whatever he was when he was small to an avenger. However, she would prefer Itachi not murder anyone in the first place, rather all of the eyes in their heads or destroyed, as they were far too dangerous to have around. Beyond that, Sasuke couldn't be allowed to leave, nor be left impressionable or weak in spirit.

Itachi was not impressionable, but no one was dead yet. He did know genjutsu; it needn't be much at first, but perhaps she could begin creating a relationship that could prove useful, maybe even rewarding.

At dinner time, she took a few steps forward. "I think tomorrow - after training - I would like to play in the park."

"Oh, I think that a break in training is required every once in awhile Ino. You should take the Nara's boy, Shikamaru, with you, and the Akimichi's - Choji," Inoichi added as he gave a knowing look to her mother. "As long as you do your meditation, you are welcome to go find them and take them both with you. They may like to play with you too, or did you forget all about them when you decided to become a _serious_ ninja?" Inoichi's voice was very teasing and her mother seemed quietly pleased that their social, chatty daughter may be easing out of her most recent phase. Ino often had intense phases of obsession, so the change was a little welcome; it was a reminder that she wasn't a ninja or even a student yet. Just their sweet, innocent, five year-old that was up with the sun to train, and by the end of a few weeks of that training, could accurately throw a kunai with slowly increasing strength and awareness, meditate for up to an hour while remaining eerily still, and sometimes looked at her body like it was failing to meet her expectations. While Inoichi didn't expect her physical form to match up to her mental expectations, he didn't expect her to respond to this by more and more repetition of movements. She wasn't a natural at all, but a genius she might just be.

Sakura pretended to look very pleased, but she hoped they wouldn't too much get in the way. The topic was a ripe opportunity for a fishing venture that she wouldn't let waste. 'They are the children of your teammates right?'

"Yes, you used to hang out with them all the time, even as babies," Inoichi reminisced. "In fact, it is likely you three will be on the same team, as Ino-Shika-Cho was so effective in the past. Therefore, it's in your best interests to be friends, or at the very least, get along. It's likely you will be friends for all your life."

"What were your old teammates like, Dad?" Sakura's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as she propped a hand up under her chin.

Her mother piped in, eyes full of mirth. "They were hellions, all of them. Lazy, talented boys with far too much time and not a lot of ambition. Very good ninja of course, but motivating them to do something during peacetime was - and still is-"

"Hey!" Inoichi interrupted. "That's not completely true."

"Eat your vegetables, dear," Akari quipped lovingly. It wasn't quite family, but Sakura felt like maybe one day it might be. For a moment, thoughts of the future and guilt and missing Ino are far away.

Dinner that night was very good. Like always, before she went to bed she whispered to her shrine "I will honor you." Tonight she added, "I will care for them, as you did." It was getting harder and harder to separate herself from Ino and Ino's life. She wasn't sure how long she could, in terms of survival and the nature of her daily meditation. I am Ino. For a second she almost felt vain with her shrine to herself, but quickly locked her feelings down; she was not vain. She was only practical.

Sakura meditated in the morning and then went to collect her future teammates from their homes. She remembered enough of Konoha's old layout to find their family homes, although they were in the same place, all of Konoha looked a little different. A tea shop instead of a dress store here, or this building that would be destroyed in the chunin exams and rebuilt in another style.

"Sorry Ino, but Choji is busy today." Next house.

"Of course Shikamaru can come out and play! I'll go wake him up. Such a pretty little lady shouldn't go unescorted to- where is it you want to play?" The woman who must be Shikamaru's mother asked suddenly. She didn't for the life of her remember the woman's name, so she tried not to refer to her directly.

"There is a playground near the academy that is very nice. It even has swings." She had checked when they filled out the paperwork that it was, in fact, built. It would be way too embarrassing to refer to a place that hadn't been built yet.

"Yes, that's lovely, you'll keep an eye on each other?" Shikamaru's mother asked.

"Of course. I will always protect my friends."

"That boy - always so lazy. I'm glad you count him among your friends. Anyway, come in, Ino, I'll go make sure he's actually moving." So Sakura slid off her sandals and looked around. They had a very traditional house after all. She took her time admiring the shoji screens, which were simple, but high quality, and probably very old.

A very tiny Shikamaru being accosted through the opening in said screen startled her for more than one reason. He was so small and adorable, and not wearing his chunin vest - which she wasn't sure why she thought that, but she couldn't picture him without it.

"Oh, hi, Ino," he mumbled when he saw her. His lack of enthusiasm was almost impressive.

"I'm going to the playground and you should come with me," Ino always demanded, right? It was getting harder to remember the tiny Ino as time went on. No way would she let Shikamaru be the boss. _That,_ she remembered.

"Uhg, fine, I guess. Maybe the clouds will be more interesting there," a pause, tilt of the head to the right and a simple, "Is Choji coming?"

"Not today," Sakura smiled in a way she hoped was apologetic. "He's busy."

The playground hadn't changed a whole lot; she supposed she would see it more, once her application was reviewed by the academy. She had no doubt that they would take her.

Originally, she was hoping to see Sasuke and maybe Itachi, but the only person she knew was sitting on the swing broke her heart by being in her sight; he was wearing a dirty, white shirt and shorts adorned with homemade patches. Naruto Uzumaki was all alone looking at the few other children with longing.

"I'm going to lay down in this sand and watch the clouds."

"Okay." Sakura picked up a leaf and stuck it to her forehead, trying not to look at Naruto too much. She couldn't interfere too much; Naruto grew up to be possibly the greatest gamechanger that ever lived and if she influenced him too much then maybe, maybe, he just might not be that person.

But if Sasuke stayed, he might not be that person either. Oh- fuck it. She tried her best to look not too unfriendly next to Shikamaru. Of course she forgot she had the leaf still sitting on her forehead, her chakra control getting better by the day, even if it wasn't as natural to use.

Naruto, in the meanwhile had noticed a small blond girl and a brunette boy just sitting when there was stuff in the playground. He was just laying there, and the girl had a leaf stuck to her forehead. He wondered if she knew she looked kind of funny with the leaf like that. A breeze picked up and it didn't even move. Maybe he should tell her, all the girls he saw seemed to always be upset at leaves in their hair.

Slowly he approached them until he was sitting fight in front of them, and then at first he wasn't terribly sure what exactly he should tell her.

"Uhm-" He started.

"I'm Ino. This is Shikamaru. He's boring and likes to watch the clouds." He was so small, and unsure and not really that loud. It was hard to believe that this child was Naruto, her brash, loudmouthed hero.

"Oh. Uhm…" So unsure, she thought, how did she never notice the first time around? "I'm Naruto. I like… the Hokage, and the swings I guess. Food too, I like food alot."

"Food is nice, I like food too." She noticed that Shikamaru has gone on alert since this little blonde boy made his appearance, "I mostly like tomatoes, but the small ones you can eat in one bite." Her mother kept insisting they were her favourite so she would always have them around the counter and Sakura by now had developed a taste for them. "I don't like anything spicy-"

"Did you know you have a leaf on your forehead?" Naruto blurted out.

She nodded, and the leave bobbed with her, "Of course, it is part of training. I am going to be a ninja so I am using my chakra to stick this leaf to my head"

Shikamaru was no longer pretending not to be interested in the conversation. He was even sitting up.

"Really? I want to be a ninja too! Believe in me Ino! I will be able to stick a leaf to my forehead too!" Somehow though, Sakura couldn't bring herself to believe him, for the amount of chakra and control he possessed as a child, he might need to start with the whole tree. Plus she wasn't sure how much trouble she wanted to be in if he tapped into the energy within him. He did contain a demon and all of its chakra in his body, after all.

"I'm sure you will, in time. I'm working very hard. I started out with meditation though." Sakura said.

Hmn. "What is this medit- metida- whatever you just said and how do I do it?"

"Well. First you must quiet your mind, so it's just you all alone in your head. Nobody can touch you there. It's a place all your own." Sakura thought it was easier to do than explain, and she was never really the patient teacher type, but she had read lots and lots of books. "Try breathing in and counting your breaths - in five seconds, out five seconds - and picture a white room with nothing in it."

"Ino! That sounds boring and not like a ninja at all!" Naruto even looks concerned for her. "Ninjas are about fighting! Oh- and the Hokage, he protects the village and all his ninja fight to protect it too. They do cool flips and throw _shuriken_ and are fast and very strong!"

"That's all very well. Meditation though is the foundation for another kind of ninja. The ones who can create illusions with just seals and a little imagination. You see one thing, but it's really something else." She lectured. "It's called genjutsu."

"Oh, I mean, that's cool and all, but I think I'd rather be a ninja with the _shuriken_ if you don't mind."

She had to laugh at that a little. "Of course I don't mind. You should still try the meditation for say, five minutes every day. I meditate and go there anytime somebody makes me sad now, or angry. It's a safe place."

"Safe? People make you sad? They shouldn't, tell me and I'll punch them." Oh, to be Naruto, full of ideals even so little. She wouldn't tell him to go there when he was lonely, she couldn't. It would drive him mad. "I'll try it though. Right now."

He made it through about two minutes the first time.

"It's getting late, and Shikamaru's and my parents will be wondering where we are. I'm not here often, but if I am, or you see me, make sure to say hello at least. Shikamaru too. He's lazy though, so don't expect too much of him." Sakura smiled at him, the heart in her chest breaking at his wondrous expression as she rose to her feet and nudged Shikamaru.

"Goodbye, Naruto. It was nice to meet you."


	5. Weather Report

**Victrix**

 _Disclaimer: Not for profit. I do not own Naruto._

 _Beta: ouranchimaru .tumblr. Com (So much thanks)_

 _Warnings: Spoilers shall continue._

 _Notes:_ ** _Any and all support is appreciated for my very odd tale. Thank you._**

* * *

Weather Report

Shikamaru waited until they were walking home to confront her. "He's not what I expected to be honest, not really something I would warn other children to stay away from. You might be scarier than him."

"Thank you. I'm working on my ferocity as well as my meditation." He wasn't exactly sure how he was supposed to take that, but he refused to take her possible bait. "If he says hello to you, please go along with it. I would like to be friends with him."

"Sure, Ino," Shikamaru said, seeming to comply; he stared at her like she had grown a second head, though. "Is there something up with you? You disappear for two weeks and go from talking about how much you love flowers to the theory of meditation. I'm not complaining, mind you - I'm just confused, and being confused is kind of a drag."

"Yeah, I get it." How to explain this... She might get this question more than once and she needed the same story. Stick to the truth as close as possible for a better lie, just a bend in the truth. "I thought about my dad, and what it means to be a Yamanaka, and I decided that I wanted to be the greatest."

"The greatest Yamanaka?" Shikamaru inquired.

"Oh, not just the greatest Yamanaka. I want to be the greatest ninja I can possibly be. I am clan heir, as are you." The responsibility was on her shoulders from the moment she was reborn with so much potential. "I applied to the academy and I've been training with Dad in the mornings. If you don't want to fall behind, you'll have to get to work on that. Choji too, or you'll never catch up."

"Tch," Shikamaru muttered through a grin. "Troublesome."

Sakura couldn't help but smile, too. It had been a good day. She couldn't be blamed when she leaned her chair up against the dresser that evening and told her Ino shrine all about meeting Naruto again for the very first time. As she chatted away, though, the injustice of having Naruto and Shikamaru and everybody but Ino very much alive finally got to her. That night, she screamed silently into her pillow until she was too exhausted to continue.

She begged for answers as she fell asleep; her dreams transported her to a world where she had tea with a girl that looked just like she did when she died. She hugged a Sakura that was in Ino's body and whispered in her ear, 'You can temper fire with water, but you cannot change water to gold. Anger in exchange is anger, a tale of revenge. Love in exchange is love.' Sakura's voice turned inexplicably more masculine. ' _All things equal before me._ '

When she woke up the next morning, she could still remember the words and the exact, unnerving tone, but her only response was to throw herself harder into her training. _I will honor you_ became her mantra for every moment of meditation, sinking farther from Sakura and more into Ino. They were in her morning regime as she began to improve, began to feel fledgling strength in her hands and chakra. They were with her as she read in the flower shop, asking her mother at least once about a different flower every time she was there. The words flowed with her as she played with Shikamaru and Choji when their parents have dinner parties. They were with her when she waved hello to Naruto, because Ino was always a person with decency. The mantra hung on when she got news that she was soon to start at the academy, to start with their other new recruits the following term, and it kept clinging through the weeks leading up to the new term.

Her father insisted on proudly dropping his daughter off at her first day of school. He hugged her and told her how proud he was of his little Ino, that he loved her and that she should make some friends and learn many things. Inoichi walked her by the hand into the building, making sure to drop her off directly at her classroom door, despite the fact that Sakura went to the bookshop across the street from the flower shop all alone, and only needed one friend (though she sometimes took two) to go to the playground right outside the academy. She gave in and smiled at him like she was the parent, simply indulging the whims of an overgrown child. She knew, though, that it was the only time he'd ever take Ino to her first day of official ninja school, so she tried not to be too embarrassed. Besides, she wasn't the only one who had parents cooing over their little one.

She knew that most of these students had to pass the oral exam that she had to attend as a civilian, but the benefit to having Inoichi as her father meant that while he had talked to her at home about being a ninja, preserving the peace and protecting the village, and assured her dedication, he had been taken as his word. There was no history of mental or physical unsoundness, either, so he had not been disputed even if he was enrolling such a young heir.

Having been enrolled at a later age and far younger maturity, she noticed this time around something that her other self was too self-absorbed to observe. Yes, the academy was there to teach the foundations as an administration chunin was explaining to the class, but she noticed that while it was there to teach the next generation and the civilian recruits enough to hope to even-out the playing field of proverbial graduates, it was also the hidden village equivilent of state day-care and military screening center in one. It was terribly, terribly efficient. It was hurling out uniform soldiers with an assurance of at least a certain repertoire of skills to teachers that would apprentice three at a time to further individual skillsets; it was from one-size-fits-all down to neatly tailored and in times of war, when sometimes quantity was required over quality. This system could pump out child soldiers efficiently and effectively, sorting by skill and not age.

The daycare aspect was apparent when she watched Naruto scribble on his desk at the back of the class and realized that he had been shuffled in with her as likely a ward of the state with limited career options anyway. Plus, it would cut down on the manpower required to keep an eye on the ninja who would eventually prank most of the ninja population.

She almost expected to see the prodigal child heirs, but the lecture from her father that she couldn't graduate early made sense now. Those children would be learning more than these students here from their own family tutors. She had one as well, but the Yamanaka were smaller and didn't all live together in a compound besides, so instead her father decided that if she was going to be up at dawn anyway, clan teaching would be there, and she could learn the rest of the basics with the other kids while her parents worked for a living. With her in the academy Inoichi had also told her that he would likely be doing some more missions out of the village.

Once the basic daily routine and curriculum had been explained along with Konoha's expectations of them, they were introduced to Iruka Umino, their general homeroom teacher who would supervise and help them with most of the daily occurrences and routines throughout the year. Iruka smiled at all of them and Sakura was surprised how much was affected to see him. She had been familiar, but not necessarily close to Iruka, but the last time she saw him he was dying in her surgeon's tent and not so pleasantly alive. It warmed her heart just a little.

The day was filled with orientation that she knew and then a small quiz about the values of the village; she tried to answer it with the most forgettable answers she could think of that would still let her pass. She didn't feel the need to be remarkable, as she knew it was best if she could pass as smart, but not noticeably so. Sakura needed to be in all things sane and stable, so she limited her answers to intelligent, but not flashy.

 _What is the role of ninja in Konoha?_

'To protect the village and the people in it.'

It was true, of course, on the simplest, most basic level, but Sakura knew that people were much more complicated than that.

She spent the rest of the lecture on 'the role of the Konoha ninja' studying her classmates; most of them looked to be about eight, and almost all of them had a physical advantage if she were to try to take them in a fight. Although, most of them seem pretty oblivious to her examination of them. Eventually, she found a face of one other person she recognized: Ten-Ten, a kunoichi just a little older than her was sitting in the front row, watching Iruka with her full attention. Her hair was up in twin buns and she didn't look much bigger than Sakura. While not entirely sure of her history, or much beyond the surface when it came to Ten Ten before, she believed it was likely that if she was here this young, only six instead of eight, that she most likely was a ward of the state; the village's War Orphan Fund assured that people with shinobi background and deceased family were provided the tuition fee, after all.

It took nearly the whole day simply to explain to them what classes they would be taking and what each of those classes meant. Being an academy student also meant access to some library scrolls that she previously could not read or take home by herself (even if her mother had helped her take out most of them already). She also had to stay later to sign herself up for Kunoichi classes, which were mandatory for girls, optional for boys and demanded that they take the classes out of their free after school time as to not interfere with their regular training. As a child, she loved this class. It made her feel feminine and refined and she made friends with Ino-

Breath in. Breath out. _I am Ino._

Right now, though, she thought it was sexist. Men would also have to do undercover missions. It would be best for a man if they learned to pass as a woman, anyway, so after class she tried to talk Naruto into joining with her. She did this only slightly because she felt that maybe a healthier respect for women might lead to a less-naked female Naruto prank.

"Ino! Aren't those classes only for girls? They sound so boring. Don't girls just like learn how to be girls and do girly things?' Naruto whined. "I don't really know why I would want to learn about flowers!"

"Naruto - you are a ninja deep in enemy territory! You must slay an evil lord to protect a village. He won't allow just anyone close, but a pretty girl brings him flowers and he doesn't suspect a thing, so she gets close and is able to rid of the village of the evil lord!"

"Ooooh!" He smiled. "That's what I want to do, protect a village from an evil lord! What does a pretty girl have to do with it?"

"Well, the way I view it, if you ever have to pretend to be a pretty girl on a mission, how are you going to do that if you don't know anything about them?" Sakura smiled viciously. "Nobody ever suspects a pretty girl."

"Hmn. Okay, I'll do it," he nodded, happy enough for the attention of a friend. A pause, and then, "Ino, if I could pretend to be a pretty girl but like, so well you couldn't tell that I wasn't, like that ninja in enemy territory, do you think I'd have more friends?"

Sakura swore she never felt her heart break so many times since she lost Ino, and hearing Naruto say that... well, it's one thing to know, and another to acknowledge it. "Yes, Naruto, you would have more friends. But - they wouldn't really be your friends. The most important part about friends is that they like you for who you are. If you pretended to be a pretty girl, there would be lots more people around your life, but the way you are now, your friends will truly be your friends."

Would you like to be my friend Naruto?" She asked.

If his sadness broke her heart, his smile could mend it, flawed as it was. "Yes, Ino! We're going to be the greatest friends! I promise!"

"That, Naruto, is the promise of a lifetime." and then, because they were five and Naruto insisted, they spit on their palms and shook hands. Sakura made sure to tell him that spitting on things wouldn't be allowed in kunoichi class, and that no, he totally spit on his hand and shook on it so he couldn't back out now.


	6. Self Awareness

**Victrix**

 _Disclaimer: Not for profit. I do not own Naruto._

 _Beta: ouranchimaru .tumblr. Com (So much thanks)_

 _Warnings: Spoilers shall continue._

 _Notes: So this story is planned to be written in story arcs, somewhat like the original material (that I neither own, nor have watched/read in a very long time btw) so there may be some time skips after various plots come to a close if the story still has people interested in reading it past the first arc I suppose. I've been asked a few times about pairings and romance, and I haven't quite decided. I know a lot of people kind of rage about this or that, so maybe i'll give you fair warning ahead of time. I really like Itachi, Kakashi, Sai, Shikamaru or Gaara (although that last one may be decidedly too far fetched in this verse to write) it's possible that one of those may happen **Though romance isn't really the focus of the story, the focus is actually Saku-Ino's life in a do-over,** I suppose I would also be open to some suggestion. I'm not really super opposed to other ideas, though I think the maturity level may be an issue for some, where she has already lived one life, however short. It's also possible that the people she goes out with, wont be the ones she ends up with. Most of the people I know don't end up with their high school crush. (That always kind of bothered me about Sakura -she still ends up with her twelve year old love, and he's not really around...) _

_Well, that was an overly long note, sorry. I'll try to keep it short and sweet in the future, and as always, Thank you for any and all support._

* * *

Self-Awareness

Sakura's days took on a whole new routine. On academy days she meditated, stretched, and ran through simple katas and handsigns. Then, she packed up a lunch of the food that was always readily available in the fridge for her. She packed extra for Naruto because, while she wasn't sure what combination of things were going wrong for him, he often didn't have a very good lunch.

She had been practicing using her chakra a little by walking up trees, but it wasn't as easy as it was the first time around. She could walk six steps up the tree in the yard and then back down. Running would be easier - and chakra flowed better to her hands than her feet - but she was after control, not speed. Not yet, at least. she knew to walk before she ran. So before she left for the academy, she practiced walking up the big tree in the yard. This particular morning, she felt pretty good, making it near halfway - a new record.

The academy taught lots of basic taijutsu, so she spent a lot of the day blocking and punching and rolling. Most of the kids were a lot bigger than she was, so she found herself often rolling in the dirt. She started wearing her blonde hair in a ponytail, as it got in her eyes when it was free to pool around her shoulders. She got better though, and she had the theory, so while she couldn't say she excelled in anyway, she certainly was not being left behind.

Ninjutsu was also very prevalent to the curriculum. She was taught handsigns that she already knew and they talked about chakra while she napped in class; she gets perfect scores on all her tests, anyway. Within a few weeks, they began trying to teach the students basic henge transformation. Though she still felt her chakra was strange, Sakura found it doable to bathe herself in an appropriate amount and project it outward, changing her appearance with very little effort. Creating a clone, a separate entity made of her own chakra, was much more difficult. She struggled enough that the older kids rolled their eyes; Iruka told her that it was okay if she couldn't do everything like the older kids could yet. Naruto also couldn't make any clones, but she knew that their issues with it weren't stemming from the same branch. Naruto had too much chakra and not enough control, but her chakra felt like sticky gum paste where it used to be clear, fluid water. She didn't bother to try and explain it, though. It was terribly frustrating, but she liked to pretend that it was just a lack of reserves and control, rather than what she suspected was the truth.

It would be most difficult to explain to the adults that she believed her spirit and body to be disconnected, and possibly even incompatible or uncooperative. She prefered to think that Ino struggled just the same with her chakra, but of course her memories were colored with the rose-tint that a youngster would apply to somebody she admired. She didn't see any flaws in Ino until they liked the same boy and the title _best friends_ became _rivals in love._ The inability to produce even the simplest of clones had her frustrated with ninjutsu.

Genjustu is limited to the theory of what one is, and how to break out of oneself. Sakura remembered some basic tools, but her father had been too busy to train with her, so she couldn't test them out at all. She thought it would be mean to use them on the unsuspecting students, though she had to tell herself this whenever Naruto, in his excitement, unknowingly starts shouting.

"How great is that Ino?!" he hollered, right beside her ear. "Shikamaru and Choji came to play in the park."

Indeed they had, and Sakura was grateful that her family friends were there for one of the greatest friends anybody could possibly have. Once all of their families had met Naruto, they had collectively decided that he could come eat whenever he liked. Sakura had even convinced her parents to buy him a simple grey jacket; no friend of hers was going to be so out of fashion! She took the shopping excuse to buy herself several knit sleeveless turtlenecks- in dark purple, she wanted practical clothing for the autumn chill, but Ino had always thought she looked best in purple. "It's my signature color, nobody can wear it as well as I can," Ino had told her one day. In the midst of war, in violet bloodstained clothing, she still looked more beautiful than anyone Sakura had ever known.

Naruto's new black jacket trailed behind him as he was a blur, running toward the swings. She laughed and sat on the grass as Choji offered her some barbeque from his family's restaurant and Shikamaru watched the clouds.

"How is training, Ino?" Shikamaru asked. "Do you like the academy?"

As far as girls went, he liked Ino most. She didn't yell or shriek or complain about dirt or bruises. He didn't think he'd ever heard her whine, not even to her parents, like so many of the kids at the markets did. She was always so incredibly polite.

"Yes! The season is getting slightly colder, so I've invested in some warmer shirts to train in," Sakura chirped, "I like the academy, though it's a little one-size-fits all in its approach, so I'm grateful for Father training me when he's available at home."

"Sounds like a lot of work to me," Shikamaru sighed.

"Do you guys want some pork rinds?" Choji offered, holding out the basket. "Oi- Naruto! Hungry?"

Naruto jumped off the swing and rolled into the sand and then he was right there in front of them, digging through the basket. "Choji, your family is the best! If I had a family, I would hope that they had a restaurant too."

Sakura was halfway into a thought of motivating Shikamaru to do something - anything, really - when she was interrupted by Naruto's statement, and it was pretty darn depressing to hear. He may be a little loud and excitable, but she wasn't sure he's quite pranked the living daylights out of everyone in Konoha yet, and he really deserved so much better.

"Naruto, family is something you can make, too. Your friends, one day, could become a family, and some teams are strong enough to be family, too! All of our dads are like brothers." She smiled. "So don't worry about so much. Do you want to come over for dinner tonight?"

"Sure, Ino, I'd love that! Your family is always so nice!" It took some warming up to him, but her parents were sensible, and above all, practical ninja. They came around with not too much coaxing. It helped that the thin little boy in his paper thin clothes was much more like a starved baby fox than a rampaging demonic one. "Isn't it your birthday soon, Naruto?"

"October tenth! So soonish, I guess. It's a few months away still," he smiled. "I'm going to be six."

"Ino's birthday is closer, it's on the twenty third," Shikamaru paused, "The twenty second is my birthday. We were both born in september, but Choju wasn't."

"Oh! When were you born, Choji?" Naruto piped up.

"May first," he said, picking a bag of chips from the basket and offering them to Shikamaru. Shikamaru was his first friend and he always watched the clouds and ate chips with him. Naruto partook in their feast, but Sakura didn't usually eat them. Not for her figure, she told herself. She will treat Ino's body with lots of healthy, healthy food... and occasionally anko dumplings, because who can resist such a sweet delicious treat.

"That's a long time away, like next year away!" Naruto happily munched away on chips.

"Eh, it's not so far," Sakura shrugged.

"If you say so, Ino," Naruto was already on his feet; she swore he never stopped moving. "Hey, Ino, do you want to race around the park? Loser is a stinky-face and has to bow to the winner, and do everything they say, for like a whole hour."

"Oh, you are on!" and she was off and running, racing Naruto on even footing. She just felt so good exerting her muscles and running just for fun. It was extra fun when she won and made Naruto meditate with her for the following hour, even if he pouted and whined for most of it.

When Naruto attended dinner at her house, she proudly bragged about the historic playground race in great detail, "And then we rounded the corner on what we decided was the finish line, and I'm only a step ahead, so I know I have to really give it my all. Then I'm at the tree with my hand on it first and I totally won." Naruto punctuates her story by blowing raspberries at her and groaning.

"She made me meditate for a whole hour with her, it was so mean!" Naruto was still whining. "And we have kunoichi class tomorrow too, and it's probably going to be really boring."

"Oh? You signed up for kunoichi class, Naruto?" Inoichi seemed highly amused at this.

"Ino made me, plus she told me that if I ever wanted to be a ninja, I might need to know how to pretend to be a girl." Inoichi was hardly surprised at his daughter's logic; he had watched her display maturity and dedication beyond her years in every session of training he had ever worked with her. She felt more like comrade than a student, and he was incredibly grateful she had been born in a generation of peace. She would have been early-promotion and frontline material far too young in any other time. He chose not to delve into her emotional maturity too much. She conducted herself a little too much like a veteran, but there was no sign of mental instability, so he let it lie.

"And such a pretty girl I'm sure you would be," Inoichi's dry voice brought everybody out of their thoughts.

"Dad!" Sakura tried to sound scandalized, but she was giggling just enough to let on that she wasn't really feeling it.

"You really think so?" Naruto leaned half over the table and batted his eyelashes ridiculously. She snorted into her tea and just decided to enjoy the moment when the number one most knuckleheaded ninja noticed he'd stuck his elbow in his miso soup. She wondered if he felt a little more like he had a family, and she really hoped so.

Naruto went home later in the evening, and Sakura spent her time before bed in front of her Ino-shrine. She sat very still, back to the mirror and talked aloud but in a soft voice.

"Well, friend, I find that I need some courage," she sighed. "I need to go check on and see if small Sakura and see if she is in this world too, because if she isn't… that could change everything."

The next day after school, she attended the kunoichi class, which was basically an introduction to the female chunin that was going to be taught to them. If the teacher was surprised to see a small male child in the class, she didn't say anything outright. However, she does adamantly ignore and slight Naruto. Ino made a point to sit next to him when they were asked to arrange flowers in pairs.

"Oh, you are all by yourself Ino, what does your bouquet say, you have sunflowers and calla lilies here, an odd combination to be sure," She smiled hopefully at one of the youngest girls in the class. Unfortunately, she had gone from politely ignoring Naruto to actually pretending he didn't exist.

Sakura gave her the brightest smile she could. "Well in the language of flowers, sunflowers are bright and _towards-the-sun,_ and calla lilies represent death and rebirth. I'm going with something like 'if you touch the sun, you may burn.' but I seem to be having a difficult time remembering which flowers represent touch, but perhaps fennel, _worthy of all praise,_ would better convey my sentiments, don't you think?"

It was certainly unnerving to be under the glare of a five year old girl who looked so much older in that moment. There were whispers among the teachers at the school that her academics were very, _very_ good, and she was bound to be the Yamanaka heir. "You know, I think that whatever you are doing is fine."

"My mother owns a flower shop." They had most likely supplied the flowers, anyway. Sakura knew Ino was a little more polite, but she could be haughty, too, so she tried it on for size (it felt pretty good).

"Yes, I'll leave you to it then," and she did, which left Sakura fairly satisfied. "Well Naruto, this explosion of bright yellow and blinding white reminds me of you. You should take it home after, your house could use something bright I'm sure."

Naruto perked up a little when the teacher left; she was sure that he wasn't unaffected and he hadn't gotten as good at hiding it as he will, or did? It was too hard to think of the correct tense. Either way, she felt happy that he was pleased about taking the flowers home. She makes a second bouquet for herself that is rather simple, and the teacher didn't tell her off even if they were only supposed to make one.

She had one last thing to do today after class, so after she bid goodbye to Naruto, she stepped behind a tree. Her transformation - henge - jutsu was probably not enough to convince a ninja that was genin or higher. It should've fooled the average academy student and be undetectable to civilians, however, so it should serve her purpose fine. Ino Yamanaka's body steps behind a tree and a grown woman with plain brown hair and brown eyes steps out. She's nondescript and wearing plain khaki capris, a blue shirt and simple thong sandals. Civilians don't wear ninja sandals; that would be a rookie mistake, forgetting the details. She wasn't good enough to instill a scent or impression with her henge but she will be, one day. For now, though, this will do.

Sakura made her way to where she lived as a child, walking down the streets of residential Konoha with her simple bouquet in hand. There was nobody out in the yard of her old house, so she approached the door. She had a pen and some paper from the school slipped in her back pocket to add to the effect. She could do this. She was ready. Sakura knocked on the door loud enough that if anyone was home, they would have heard her.

A woman with goldenrod hair and emerald eyes opened the door. "Hello?" Sakura smarted. She thought she was ready, but there was her mother. Her mother of so many years and Mebuki Haruno was just standing there, right in front of her looking slightly puzzled.

It hit like a tsunami; the woman who raised her was just standing in front of her and didn't know her and it hurt, but she can't even recognize her own daughter, her own flesh and blood. She wanted to scream-

 _I am Ino,_ she repeated, just a moment, slipping into that instinctual meditation. 'Stick to the script,' her mind supplied. "Yamanaka flower delivery, for Sayuri Watanabe at this address."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Mebuki said. "There isn't anybody here under that name."

There wouldn't be though, it's a name Sakura made up. "Oh, there isn't a Sayuri here at all?"

She knew the mirth in Mebuki's expression, the slightest crinkle in her upturned lips. "There _is_ a Sakura, but as my daughter is five, I do not think she would have placed an order for flowers, as well is this is the Haruno household."

Well, Sakura existed in this world, she thought. Her small self was going to be there for Sasuke and Naruto, and it was a bit of relief, because she wasn't sure she could trust Team Seven to make it very far without their medic. "Oh, I'm sorry, do you have an account with Yamanaka flowers?"

"Not an official account, but I do buy from your shop sometimes," Mebuki was always so forthcoming. She remembered growing up with her as her parent; always bickering with her father. Sakura missed them.

"Hmn, and you didn't order any flowers for today?' She pulled out her paper as if double-checking the order. It didn't have anything written on it, but she angled it so it didn't show.

"Mom! I'm hungry," a child's voice called from inside the house.

"No, I'm sure."

"I apologize for the misunderstanding." There was a tiny pink-haired child hiding behind her mother's skirt, her face still slightly visible. It was shocking. Bright green eyes, pink hair, and a wide forehead that she hadn't grown into yet. She smiled at Mebuki, slipping into her meditation just a little so that she can get through the oddity of the experience. "Have a lovely evening, ma'am."

She bowed slightly at the waist and politely took her leave. Once, she had Inner Sakura, a obnoxious manifestation of her feelings inside while her outward self could remain so perfectly polite. Sakura felt a little bit like that in that moment, walking home in the guise of a civilian. On the inside was Sakura, emotional and passionate, and on the outside was Ino.

She shut her eyes briefly, squeezing them closed with a valiant flare of resolves. Shinobi Rule number twenty-five: never let anyone see you cry.


	7. Market Street

**Victrix**

 _Disclaimer: Not for profit. I do not own Naruto._

 _Beta: ouranchimaru .tumblr. Com (So much thanks)_

 _Warnings: Spoilers shall continue._

 _Notes:_ _ **Still Reading? Thank you.**_

* * *

Market Street

As it turned out, when one has had more than their fair share of time in life, most of the theoretical things came rather easy. Academy classes just didn't hold up in the face of knowing the future and Sakura was rather bored with all of the academics. Once in awhile they hosted guest lectures and because she wasn't enrolled so early before, she hadn't experienced all of the speakers, so the lectures were very much welcome.

During one such lecture, she watched an Uchiha talk about the benefits of the Konoha Military Police and how they help with the day to day security of the village. He made it sound so very vital, but the edges of his expression were worn, and it was only her familiarity with Sasuke so long ago that she could see the weariness in the slightly downturned corners of his lips. He was very stoic and prideful and his presence felt like more than a single man. More than anything, he carried the weight of the clan like a mantle. He wasn't the first Uchiha that Sakura had seen of course, but he was the first one she could unabashedly study without looking like she was staring. She thought again about seeking out Sasuke but knew the opportunities to slip away from her studies, her parents, and her friends were not all that easy to come by.

Having ninja parents also did not help in any way. Her father seemed to always pick up on her small fibs nowadays. She had a suspicion that it was because her indications of lying and Ino's would not be the same, and after a period of adjustment he came to know Sakura-as-Ino at least as well as he knew Ino-as-Ino. When she snuck away to see her small self, she had seen him give her a look of suspicion when she told him she simply got a little lost window shopping on the way home. He confronted her about not letting her parents know about where she was and who she was with, and yes, she had felt guilty. Not enough to feel regret, but enough to stay close and respect her parents wishes for a while.

She also resolved to get to know them better, and to let them know her a little better too.

It was difficult, though; she felt a little torn in two, wanting to be Ino for them, but only really able to be Sakura. Morning training helped the most, even if lots of it was spent in silence. When she was at the flower shop she had made an effort to involve Akari in the books she was reading, as well. Her mother would help read the voices of some of the characters in the adventure stories and do her best to help when Sakura was feeling studious by bringing in books on basic chakra and genjutsu theory. Her daughter happened to have the reading and comprehension of somebody far older; she had always been really bright, and had learned to walk, talk (talk especially), and even read very early. The Village occasionally had full fledged adults walking around in the bodies of nine year olds, so Akari wouldn't push it too much. The more chances for her daughter's survival out there in the wild, where she would someday be deployed, was not something to be alarmed about, she told herself. It was okay that her eyes leveled with Akari with a clarity and maturity that was startling at times. She promised her parents that she would be strong.

 _You see, Ino? I'm getting better. I'll take care of them for you. I'll care for them, for you,_ Sakura promised in the moonlit glow of her room. _I will honor you._

Some night she thought of how a student became a teacher and she was so much like her mentors in her previous life. Kakashi sat vigilantly every morning, Sakura every night. There was probably an element of survivor's guilt, and it never got any easier. Still, she didn't have time to mope or mourn. She only had time enough to prepare for what was to come.

She finally gave greater thought to Sasuke, and Itachi, too. Sakura knew that the moment Itachi goaded him, he would chase him to the very ends of the earth, and that would be their downfall. How to get closer to them, though, was a puzzle in itself. No doubt Itachi was the one to reach out to and Sasuke was likely rather co-dependant even if he is getting training at home, and she was positive he is.

What did she know about Itachi, though? That he was a mass murderer of circumstance… he had the Sharingan, he was at least a jonin and he was a master of genjutsu.

Last time around she knew she was a genjutsu type, but she never really delved into the possibility and instead found her calling in medicine due to her nearly perfect chakra control. Maybe it was time to explore her genjutsu potential. She was a Yamanaka, so she wanted to be exceptional in everything that she did. It would only make sense that she found herself an exceptional teacher, even if it was going to all be unofficial.

Now, that settled, all she needed to do was lie in wait for the opportunity to present itself. If it didn't though, she would take liberties in assuring at least a meeting.

The next morning after meditation, she asked Inoichi to tell her more about genjutsu, as it _fascinated_ her in class, but unfortunately, they didn't really talk about it much.

"Genjutsu is a manipulation of the mind, but it's not like transferring your mind or communicating telepathically. Those, while not physical forces, are entirely real and separate in nature. Genjutsu is less separate; you engage the eye of the mind to see things a little different from reality, or in some cases a lot different." Inoichi's explanation was very textbook, and while she knew this, she could appreciate the signs of an academic ninja.

"So, for example, you could make somebody see a tree where there is none, or no tree where there is one. You could make them hear a ringing in their ears, or smell the scent of a cherry tree on the wind.

"Those are the little things.

"The big things could make somebody see and smell an army of riffraff, samurai, or ninja backing you up, believe that there is a village where there is none, or trap them in their own mind. The possibilities are great, but the skill and control are difficult, and most ninja do not have the aptitude or patience to bother honing skill with it."

"A master of the skill with a very simple illusion, like making a their weapon appear a little shorter, could do a lot of damage," She said, and her father nodded.

"Yes, but it's not a common path, and there is risk at getting too wrapped up in your own head. I would recommend you wait until you are older, anyway."

Sakura nodded. She was five, she understood, of course, his fatherly concern. In three weeks though, she would be six. Older, indeed.

"Alright, you don't have school today, so how about we throw some Kunai and then take your mother to the market? We're having dinner at the Nara's tonight, and we would be pretty bad guests if we didn't bring something with us."

She knew that the Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi would never think of each other as bad guests, even if they didn't bring anything. However, normalcy was tantalizingly welcoming, and her smile was genuine. It was a moment where she felt like she really was Ino.

"I'd like that a lot, Dad," she grinned wider. "And maybe we can stop at one of the market stalls and get some pudding!"

"Maybe," he agreed, but she knew that she could wear him down.

She was completely right of course, and she offered to share. As her parents smiled at her and she smiled at them, she felt like she was just five and the weight of the world was a burden she could pick up later. Sakura enjoyed being in the moment and being able to leave all of the contemplation for another time.

The academy had the students practicing blocks and blows today. It was all repetition and all of her training and work at home was finally starting to show. Her partner was an older student of civilian background. Sakura was suspicious that he felt bad hitting a small blonde girl; she was insulted by the way he was pulling his punches. It was a simple, mind-numbing pattern, block low, block high, hit low, hit high. Most of the students looked more on the awkward side, with tentative punches and stiff stances, but she knew there were a few naturals and a few clansman with better training amongst the group. She didn't realize, though, that, so used to being underestimated, she was in the top half of the class physically and one of the most disciplined students.

The teachers and other students saw her as shy or poorly socialized, but she had a few friends and she gets along well with Naruto so they're not overly concerned. Her classwork though was exceptional, her mind was sharp and she couldn't pretend otherwise. The fact that her physical scores were average made her promising, so when she came to Iruka after school and asked about finding a tutor, he was rather surprised.

"Ino, your test marks are really good, you don't goof off in class, and you're not really behind physically." Yes, she agreed; Ino was, after all, at the top of her class, too. "Your clan is also available to teach you, so what is it that you are looking for?"

"I'm really interested in genjutsu, and I understand that I won't be eligible to learn any, but I was wondering if there was anybody in the village that I could just ask about it. My dad isn't the best at explaining it."

"Your father asked you to find somebody else to explain?" Iruka Umino was rather puzzled.

"He simply said it wasn't his strong suit, and so I would like to talk to somebody for whom it is a strong suit."

"Hmn, I know maybe a few Chunin, and of course the Uchiha clan has genjutsu, but they also have their Sharingan eyes. They probably can't help you out. If I think of anybody, I'll let you know?" He gave a smile that was a little uncomfortable. It was a little patronizing, too, but she just couldn't bring herself to be mad about it. He thought that he was protecting her, but the horrors of genjutsu just didn't compete with her own memories.

"That would be great, _sensei._ " She smiled sweetly, grateful that she was able to make it look natural. "You mentioned the Uchiha? Like Officer Uchiha who spoke about the military police?"

"Yes, Officer Uchiha is part of the military police."

"Are the military police genjutsu users mostly then?" Sakura asked aloud. She was more than a little desperate to see Sasuke after all this time here. She wanted to stare in the face of the one she needed to save.

Iruka shrugged, and he seemed so much younger to her than he did in her memories of him at the academy. "I'm not entirely sure, not all Uchiha have the _sharingan_ and not all of them are military police, either."

"Oh, of course," she nodded. "Thank you for your help. Let me know if you think of somebody."

Sakura nodded respectfully and left the classroom. She thought in some ways it was strange to have conversations with other people so that the things she did didn't appear entirely random. If she wanted to approach the Uchiha, she needed at least to have heard a little more about them than just what a guest lecture has told her.

She knew a little more about them, and her birthday was almost here. Things were looking up in the life of Yamanaka Ino. Their birthdays were close enough that a joint celebration was planned for her and Shikamaru. When she invited Naruto after kunoichi class, he was overjoyed, so he left class that day rather excited.

Shikamaru and Choji were playing in the park, waiting for her.

"When are you going to join the academy with me?" Sakura asked, "Soon I'll leave you guys behind if you don't put in some effort."

Her voice was teasing and Choji grinned and quipped, "My family is teaching me anyway. Why did you want to go to formal school so early? Are you really learning much your dad can't teach you?"

So far she learned that being a clan heir made everyone look at you like you would definitely amount to something. It was clear that there was no praise for excellent test scores, just expectation. She learned that the youngest members of the class were the most likely to be war orphans and that while Konoha cared for its own, it was only to a point. The Academy taught her that they wouldn't really teach her anything until she was a genin and swore her loyalty to the Hokage.

It taught her mostly things it didn't wish to teach her, like how propaganda was one of the most effective weapons a village had. She had watched a Uchiha stand in front of them and tell them that all was well, and the Uchiha Military police were trusted by the village to keep everyone safe. All the while the Uchiha were segregated in a district behind unfriendly walls, and the other ninja sometimes looked at them with suspicion. The people you trusted to keep your village safe were not the people you built a wall for and generally kept out of the main military forces. Yes, they were mostly ninja, but not a widespread group of them.

Most clans had their hands in more pots than one. Military, yes, but more than one branch, ranks, and placements, especially among the larger clans. Frequently, they had dealings of fiscal nature and at the very least had interest in more domestic trade as well. Sometimes, it was related, the Inuzuka clan kept dogs, and were very good veterinarians. Her family had the flower shop, others had weapons, textiles, food and medicine.

If most clans had their hands in multiple pots, the Uchiha clan looked like their hands were tied. They didn't produce anything other than a supply of possible _sharingan_ users. There was no investment beyond their compound and they had very few ninja outside of the role of Military Police. She knew logically that there should be a handful of ANBU, some jonin, and several chunin, but the gap seemed to be right between dependence and independence. There were Genin Uchiha on teams here and there, but so far she had seen no jonin instructors that were Uchiha. It didn't feel out of place because she didn't remember those things being around anyway, but more because for a founding clan of the village, their presence didn't feel much different from her memories from where they were all dead.

She knew Itachi killed the whole clan, but she wasn't entirely sure what happened in the weeks leading up to it. As the Hokage's apprentice and Naruto's friend, she even knew the general truth that had come to be known about how Itachi didn't do it brainlessly or for power, but to save his little brother from civil war.

It was harshly ironic how they lost his little brother and everyone else in a War of the Great Nations anyway, she supposed. Sasuke was made of war from the moment his brother cursed him, to the moment war came for him in the end.

To that end, her small self was out there, and that version of Sakura would need to be ready to help Sasuke without losing herself in the process. It was all so complicated, she mused, staring into space. It hurt to think of other Sakura when they both got to be here, but Ino didn't. It was unjust, but the world had never been fair. There were plans, though, so hopefully she could help her small self blossom, and cultivate a healer and a strong mind to go with it...

"Are you lost?" She heard and all her thoughts fled as she turned to face the person asking. She supposed she looked lost, wandering through the market on her way home, staring at a hanging wall scroll for an embarrassingly long time. Beyond that, she was a child that was unaccompanied when it was already near dinnertime.

She glanced up and froze up in the face of Uchiha Itachi, leaning down with small arms encircled around his neck. "Brother, why did you stop? Mom said we need to get her more pickled plum for the rice balls tonight."

Sakura had spent all this time thinking of an elaborate plan to find them, to see Sasuke, and she could see him clearly, peeking curiously over Itachi's shoulder.

"I'm wondering if this girl is lost, Sasuke, she's been staring at the same market stall for three minutes, and I don't know if anyone is here with her." Itachi's voice was slightly husky, and he didn't smile, but she could feel amusement at her wandering state, as well as Sasuke's curiosity. She could understand, though; he wasn't at all recognizable to the boy she knew, not with those wide, bright, innocent eyes. Sakura wanted to protect him; she needed to save him.

"I must apologize, Uchiha," She started, slowly at first, but then she met his eyes with confidence, for all of her small height and age, she was also Sakura who was neither of those things, and a proud Yamanaka with a reputation to leave in her wake. "If I startled you, I was simply lost in thoughts. They were rather complex. My name is Yamanaka Ino, and I am not lost."

"Ah," he murmured. His amusement was waning and Sasuke looked rather bored. "I will leave you to your thoughts, then."

"It would be rude not to introduce yourself." Sakura was surprised a little, herself. It was also rude of her to say it aloud.

"I owe you an apology as well, then, Miss Yamanaka. I am Uchiha Itachi and this is Uchiha Sasuke." He was rather unreadable and expressionless, but she knew he must feel things. She just couldn't expect to know _what_ , and it was too difficult to guess.

"It was nice to meet you, Uchiha, and your brother, yes? He is rather adorable," she smiled and wished she had Naruto's magical power to make anyone trust him with a small speech. "I would always welcome a friend at the playground next to the academy when the academy has dismissed us for the day. That is, if you would like to play sometime, Sasuke?"

Itachi seemed pleased that she had addressed Sasuke directly, which caused Sasuke to quickly pipe up. "I am learning to make fire, not play on the swings."

"I am also learning to be a ninja. I am not learning make fire, but I will make do. It doesn't mean that I can't enjoy playing on the swings, though. It is an open invitation to both of you, of course." She couldn't ever see Itachi coming to play on the swings, eat chips, and watch clouds, but it would be rude to disclude him.

With a nod and not even a backwards glance, Sakura proudly walked out of the market and all the way home, the epitome of composure. However, seeing the two of them had been as impactful as seeing small Sakura, except that that small life was supposed to make all of this worth it. It was supposed to make this world okay, and it just didn't seem like it would ever be that way it in that moment.

"Why did we ever have a fight over a boy, Ino? He was just a boy and our friendship was so much more important. How did I ever give you up for him?"

She removed the picture of Ino from her mirror that night and placed it beside her on her pillow. So many days, weeks, months, she held it together, but the moment that she saw Sasuke again, she came crumbling down. That night, she allowed herself another night of mourning.

When she woke, she placed the picture back and was full of determination. "I will make us into something, Ino. I will honor you."

 _I will honor us._


	8. Two Steps Forward

Two Steps Forward

Having a joint birthday party meant that almost all of the Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka clan members needed to fit under one roof. Some of the members of course were away on missions, and the three clans had never been nearly as large as the Uchiha or Hyuuga clans, but the Nara house and adjoining gardens felt like they were bursting at the seams with so many grown-ups in the modest space, children running wild and underfoot all the while.

The Yamanaka heir did not have many relatives around her own age, all of her cousins being too young or too old to really relate to her, and Choji and Shikamaru were in a similar boat. Naruto was playing with some of of the youngest Yamanaka children, toddlers crawling in the grass. Choji was sharing food with Shikamaru while they lay in the grass and Sakura was busy trying to remember the names of everyone.

Dressed in traditional clothing, in a fall maple motif and with a hairpin keeping all of her blonde tresses out of the way, Sakura looked decidedly less like a small ninja in training and much more like the heiress and beauty she knew Ino to be.

All of the comments and well wishes unto her were reflective of all of this, but most were decidedly impersonal. They ranged from "How tall you've grown, what a beauty you will be," when spoken to her face, to "-Already in the academy, learning the ninja arts, a dutiful heiress," when she was not spoken to directly.

Of course, the most important thing about her birthday wasn't Shikamaru's offer to teach her Shogi (she gave him a dogwood sapling in return), or Naruto's gift of a bouquet he'd dried with her instruction from kunoichi class, or Choji's lovely gift of handmade puddings that he knew she just loved. No, she realized she was now six, and even being just a little older was going to make some things more socially acceptable. Like going out a little more on her own, and finding somebody to work on Genjutsu with.

Three weeks of routine days later, having not seen either Uchiha and nothing really eventful happening, Iruka asked her to stay late after class one day.

"I have found you a possible tutor, she is a newer Jonin than some, but she is interested in teaching and I thought that since she's not yet eligible for a genin team, she may take you under her wing for a few lessons or lectures when she is available." Iruka thinks that she is looking for exposure to children as she likely will end up teaching and isn't certain what to expect from them in part. Of course, the child in front of him had already approached him around the time the young jonin as asking some of the academy teachers and jonin- _sensei_ about how to apply for a genin team and what it was like to work with the children. His first thought had been Ino, with her eerie maturity and genjutsu interest she would likely be easy for most conventional teachers to educate.

"I am still interested, and my father said that it was something for when I was older, but I am now six," Sakura said proudly, a faint smile that was only a little sardonic. 'More like mid twenties, but who is really counting?'

Iruka sighed, for such an easy child to teach, she could be rather vague. "Well then, clear it up with your father and I will let her know. Her name is Kurenai Yuhi and I don't know her well personally, but she is respectable."

"Of course, I will get my father's permission, please tell me when she is available to meet with me when you know," Sakura smiled, this time without the attitude, Iruka was doing her a favor.

"Father, I have made a new friend and we are going to hang out together soon. She is also a ninja and I am very excited," She smiled widely at her father as her mother prepared dinner and he looked over some the the reports he had brought home from work that day.

"Try again," He looked at her rather sharply for what she had said.

"What do you mean?" Sakura tried to make her eyes wider and expression light.

Inoichi's brow crinkled in a frown, "Ino, I love you and I know you. I am also a highly trained human lie detector. It's time you know some of these things. I know when you are lying. So try again. This time, don't shift your eyes to the corner of the room when you are talking, and when in doubt stick to the truth, just rephrase it to suit your purposes."

"Father, I wanted to let you know that I will be staying late after school a few extra days here and there to further my studies and receive some individual tutoring. I am having some difficulty with understanding one of my classes," She stared him in the eye, slipping into her measured breathing. _I am Ino,_ echoed in her mind and her heart.

"Better," He placed his hands on the table over the files and she felt the weight of his full attention. "Your mother and I have taught you to tell the truth, and out of respect I expect that when truly asked you can still tell me the truth Ino. I am also ninja, though and sometimes a good lie will save your life. Lying is a skill, and something you can learn to do and do well. It is as important as hitting a target with a shuriken and something we can practice together.

Of course, anybody you respect, especially those that are important in our village, the Hokage, your teachers, superiors and police I expect you to be truthful." Inoichi was understanding that balance was the key, to know how to lie well came with some responsibility. He did believe that his daughter could learn how to lie and how to be accountable though, she had already demonstrated a great deal of conceptual understanding even if physical application seemed to be one of her weakest points. Her mental application was amazing, and those physical frailties could be made up for if her mind could be made sharp as a sword.

Not unlike his wife, time and war had disillusioned him well. He wished for his child to have room to grow and be a child, even if that did not seem to be Ino's interests. In wake of her eventful morning announcement to be a serious ninja, reality crept in on him and he wished for her to be as prepared as possible for their cruel world of village politics and just what ninjas could be asked to do for their villages. His child could not afford to be candidly truthful and naive. Inoichi was far more naturally optimistic than his realist wife, but he had seen far worse than even she had. He would try his best to see that Ino could stand on her own, without a crutch.

"Now that you have lied, I would like to know the truth."

Sakura mirrors his pose, "I have asked Iruka- _sensei_ at the academy to find me somebody who may tudor me a little more in genjutsu. He says Kurenai Yuuhi is interested in some teaching experience, it would be to both of our credit."

"I did tell you that it wasn't my expertise and you have gone out of your way, I won't deny you the opportunity. Let me know how it goes, and make sure you spend some time with your mother at the shop this coming week, she misses your company."

Sakura nods and dinner is served shortly after.

Kurenai Yuhi was several years shy of the mature woman that she remembered seeing at the Chunin exams. That does not mean the she is any less beautiful however. She has wild wavy black hair and ruby eyes that take in Sakura's form, clothed in her high collar dark purple knit top and black pants that ended just under her knees. Sakura had grown tired of the length of her hair brushing her shoulders and had taken to tying it up in a bun wrapped in cloth, as she remembers Ino of her time wearing when she cut her hair.

She cannot be sure what her tudor sees in the slightly scrawny body but she must find it satisfactory. In the past, she didn't know her well enough to get a read on her or have any advantage now. Kurenai sits down in a lotus position and Sakura mirrors her.

They are at training ground two, which is a simple training ground mainly used by genin. "My name is Kurenai Yuhi. I would like to teach one day, and although what I can teach you is limited by the fact that you are an academy student, I do have a few things that I can teach you."

"My name is Ino Yamanaka, and I have an interest in genjutsu, I understand that I may be limited my my chakra reserves, control, age and rank in my learning, but I am willing to apply myself completely."

"How old are you Ino?" She asks, the truth is Iruka has not informed her very well. It couldn't be helped that he simply doesn't know Ino that well either, with so many other students preparing to move into graduating classes and this little girl being a little overlooked in comparison. Kurenai has been told that she is studious and only occasionally obnoxious about what she knows. That her academics are very good, and her physical ability lacking, but not necessarily expected to be better.

There were many things she didn't know, and she has learned that sometimes it is easier to ask the student themselves.

"I am six, Kurenai- _sensei,"_ There was something just a little off about this six year old, unnerving almost, her speech too even and her eyes just a little to observant. "I have already begun training with my father, I am good at meditation and I'm working very hard on controlling my chakra. I'm getting better. My speed and stamina are not a strength."

"I hope to learn a little more about genjutsu than my father and the academy are willing to teach, I want to make it my strength," Sakura thinks it is best to be straightforward. The Kurenai sitting in front of her is not yet an accomplished teacher , she is not the steadfast mother, and she is not the stalwart widow. Instead, an untried young jonin looks at her and seemingly finds her lacking.

Iruka had warned the genjutsu mistress of one thing that echoed in her mind now, "A startling maturity, but maybe a little unsocialized among those her own age. Not for lack of friends perhaps." It seems apparent that those words might have hit the nail right on the head.

"You know what genjutsu is? That is is the altering of the perspective of the mind's eye?" Sakura nods.

"I am only willing to teach you two things in regards to genjutsu for now, how to recognize one, and how to break one. Beyond that you must become a genin or turn to your family- but i'm guessing your family does not have genjutsu as an aptitude, if you are turning to me to learn it."

"My Father I am certain has some ability, I believe it is more that I went against his wishes and found somebody to teach me on my own that we are here now," That and her former life granted her the knowledge and firsthand experience how terrifying genjutsu can be. She is her daddy's little princess after all. "He has given me permission to learn from you, but at first he was…" It takes her a second to figure out how to word it delicately. "He worries that I am too young. He has told me that I will not graduate early."

"Do you disagree with that? Do you wish to graduate early?" Kurenai asked.

There is no telling where she sits in the wake of the world and it's events if she graduates early and is not there to maybe guide those around Sasuke from afar. She only hopes she has enough influence to do so by then. "No, I will lose more than I will gain."

"-and what will you lose, Ino?"

"I have a family legacy to uphold. Ino-Shika-Cho is something carried out through the long history of our clans. Knowing where you come from is important," Sakura doesn't need to think about it for the answer to be on her lips in an instant. _I am Ino._

"Is that what you will gain as well?" Kurenai's eyes have turned more kind and the general harshness has left her face. The entire village is unsure how to feel about a lot of things, Sakura thinks. If she remembers correctly then Kurenai is a good friend of Kakashi, who also graduated early and may not be the most stable of individuals. At this time, Kakashi is likely still working himself to death and maybe worrying Kurenai subconsciously about child prodigies.

Sakura was not a child prodigy; she had trouble of thinking of herself as a child and was far too out of sync with her physical body and physical chakra to be prodigious anyway.

"I will gain Shikamaru and Choji as teammates, I am sure," Sakura begins. "I will gain more time to be field-ready upon graduation. I refuse to watch my teammates backs and I aim to be top of my class. Well rounded of course."

"We begin now then. First clear your mind-scape. The first step to breaking genjutsu is recognizing you are under it," Kurenai seems convinced enough of her to teach her at least, and that is step one.

For an hour Sakura informed Kurenai of the tells that she was in a genjutsu. She did not get them all. Some are obvious and she wonders how she would not be able to tell that the scent of cherry blossoms are out of place in the fall when it should be maple leaves on the wind. She spots unnatural puddles of water and even an out of place Iruka asking her what she's doing out so late.

She misses an errant deer, her father walking into her training session -though it should have been obvious- and several weather changes that just seem to fool her senses. It seems that as her body's chakra is good at cloaking her in henge, and seems easy to expand, it's range of feeling isn't all that good when she is having trouble realizing it's her mind that's being tricked. Sakura isn't even supposed to break them, just signal to Kurenai that she is in one.

"The sky is purple like sunset, but it can't be that time yet."

"No, you got that one, I'll release you. You have the aptitude for genjutsu and while I don't have any time for anything formal, I will teach you when I have time. You need to better connect to you chakra though. I can feel it, you can reach with it, pushing it out to probe the environment when you think you are in a genjutsu, even if it doesn't go very far. It's very sluggish and disconnected with your body though. I've never encountered that before, so I don't know if you might need to go to a medic or just work on your control more to make it fluid."

"I understand. The library and clan may have some answers for me as well."

"In the future I will pick you up from the academy if I have time to teach you something that day," Her offer is a reasonable, and welcome one.

"I often stay after school to play with my friends and watch the clouds, I will make sure to check if you are around when the days is done." Sakura stands and bows politely. "Thank you Kurenai- _Sensei._ "

"Thank you for applying yourself with such dedication, Ino," Sakura wonders to herself if it is her status as clan heir or simply her own formalities that seem to instill the behavior in the adults that interact with her.

Kurenai bowed and disappeared in a swirl of leaves that might have been impressive if Sakura hadn't once been able to do just that herself once. The way it was now though, she would walk home, and on her way she would stop at the library and pick up another book on chakra theory. Another step forward, and it was in this fashion she was determined to live. There was nowhere to go but forward.

AN: Beta is too busy to get to this, so It's been a while and it's really, really, raw. But there's another chapter.


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